Informal Complaint Information

The Bureau of Consumer Services (BCS) assists consumers in resolving complaints with utility companies under the PUCs authority. Before you file an informal complaint, you must first deal directly with your utility company. If the company is unable to resolve your problem, you may contact us to file an informal complaint. BCS investigates and responds to informal complaints as soon as possible.

BCS also records opinions and/or comments that we receive from consumers. BCS generally does not reply directly to opinions and/or comments unless you specifically ask us to do so. The form below can also be used to inform BCS of a utility matter that falls under the PUC’s jurisdiction. Utilities not regulated by the PUC are found below.

Please review all of the following information before filing a complaint:

Have you called the company about this complaint? The Commission may accept complaints only from customers who have first contacted the company about their complaint. We may close your informal complaint without investigation if it is determined that you did not contact your company about this matter before filing an informal complaint.

Informal complaints must be filed by the customer of record, the person applying for service in their name, or an adult occupant whose name appears on the mortgage, deed or lease of the property for the residential utility service in question. If you are not the customer of record, the applicant for service, or an adult occupant whose name appears on the mortgage, deed or lease of the property for the residential utility service in question, you must state and subsequently verify that you have legal authority to act on behalf of the customer of record or applicant (i.e. power of attorney, legal guardian etc.)

If you have a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order, please indicate that on the form below when you provide a summary of your problem. After we confirm that you have a PFA order, we will make sure your account receives the special protections entitled under law.

By filing an informal complaint you are automatically giving permission to the Commission to contact the utility to review the account information concerning your complaint. If you do not want the Commission to have access to your account information, please do not file an informal complaint.

If your consumer complaint involves money owed to the utility you must pay all current bills (bills for usage each month that you receive after filing an informal complaint) while BCS investigates your complaint. If you do not pay the current bills, the utility may shut off your service for nonpayment of these undisputed charges.

The Commission is authorized to make payment agreements within limits established by law. The law requires set payback periods based upon income level. The law also limits the number of payment agreements that the Commission may establish on an account by setting conditions that must be met before the Commission may establish more than one agreement.

The law prohibits the Commission from ordering a payment agreement for an outstanding balance resulting from customer assistance program (CAP) rates. Each company has a different name for its CAP. A customer assistance program provides a reduced monthly bill based on household size and income. While the Commission cannot make CAP charges the subject of payment agreements, we can review your account to make sure the company applied its CAP rules correctly; to verify that the CAP balance is accurate, and to make sure CAP is the most beneficial option for your situation.

Filing an Informal Complaint

You may file an informal complaint or provide opinions/comments regarding utility matters with the PUC by calling one of the following telephone numbers, writing to us or by using our informal complaint form.